FOUR-IN-ONE PILL THAT SLASHES HEART RISK
Combination of aspirin, statins and blood pressure drugs could stop thousands dying
THOUSANDS of lives could be saved by a cheap, four-in-one pill cutting the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
A major British-led study found that taking the daily pill containing aspirin, a statin and two drugs to lower blood pressure slashes the risk by up to a third.
In those without a history of heart attacks or strokes, the risk was cut by around 40 per cent.
The idea of a ‘polypill’ containing several drugs to fight heart disease is not new, but none is available in the UK. This is the first major study to confirm polypills, which cost as little as 2p a day, do help protect all adults – even those with no history of heart disease.
It suggests such a pill could be given to millions of over-50s as a preventative measure, in a similar way to how statins are prescribed.
Many experts believe a single
combined pill could prevent more deaths from heart attacks and strokes, save the NHS money and provide more convenience for patients.
But others are concerned that mass prescription, even to those with no history of problems, risks turning healthy people into patients.
Today’s study, published in The Lancet, monitored almost 7,000 adults over five years.
Study author Professor Tom Marshall, from the University of Birmingham, said: ‘This is the largest trial confirming the value of the polypill and showing it is effective in prevention of heart disease.
‘Millions of Britons are already on statins and blood pressure drugs, but they could be offered one polypill instead of taking lots of different tablets. It is a much more convenient way of taking medication.’
The Birmingham researchers and scientists at the University of Tehran monitored adults aged 50 to 75 living in Northern Iran. The participants were divided into two groups of 3,400. They were all encouraged to adopt a healthier lifestyle, but one group was also given the polypill to take every day.
Researchers tracked them over five years and found the polypill group were 34 per cent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
This included a 40 per cent reduced risk for those with no prior history of heart disease, and a 20 per cent reduction in those who had previously had heart problems.
Participants who stuck to the pill as directed throughout the full five years got the best results, with those who took it most days cutting their risk by 57 per cent.
In total, 202 people in the group that took the polypill suffered a heart attack or a stroke, compared with 301 in the group where only lifestyle advice was given.
Professor Marshall added: ‘The polypills can be produced very cheaply, at around 2 pence a day. They are currently made by a company in India for pennies, and would not be much more expensive to manufacture over here.’
The research will add to pressure for the drug to be licensed for use in the UK.
Many elderly patients fail to stick to prescription regimes including statins, blood pressure drugs and several other tablets, reducing their effectiveness.
In 2007 Professor Sir Roger Boyle, then the government’s heart tsar, said mass polypill prescription would transform the nation’s health and relieve pressure on the NHS. The polypill tested by the team, produced by the Iranian company Alborz Darou, included aspirin, a statin called atorvastatin and two blood pressure drugs called hydrochlorothiazide and enalapril.
Experts welcomed the findings, but said further research was needed before the introduction of a polypill in the UK.
There are concerns that the mass prescription of such medication could lead many people to forgo a healthy diet and exercise in the belief the polypill will protect them.
Professor Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation said: ‘This study shows that
‘They are made in India for pennies’
in low- and middle-income countries, where the use of medicines to reduce heart disease risk is low, a single pill combining several drugs is safe and effective.’
However, he added: ‘The findings are not transferable to high-income countries where baseline preventive medical care to reduce heart and circulatory disease risk is common.’
Yesterday a major report from Age UK found that two million over-65s – 20 per cent of pensioners – now take at least seven different medications each day.
A NEW prescription pill could save thousands of lives among over-50s by slashing the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Plainly, this is welcome.
Taken as a preventative measure, the 2p tablet may save the NHS millions and spare victims and their families a world of suffering. But the Mail offers a word of warning.
It is already deeply troubling that millions of pensioners take a cocktail of seven different drugs every single day. Isn’t there a danger that we are falling into the trap of ‘over-medicalising’ patients?
And then, won’t they be encouraged to duck responsibility for their own wellbeing by eating unhealthily and exercising less? After all, no pill is a panacea.